The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1) (30 page)

Name:
Ulinde
.
High Elf Level 18. Health 310. Mana 320. Stamina 260. Disposition: Friendly.
Elves have several subclasses
that determine their specific powers. High elves are gifted in archery and most
magical arts. They have increased resistance to magical attack. High Elves get
three points to distribute per level, and each level give +1 to Intelligence
and +1 to Wisdom.

Name:
Quasea
.
Arcane Gnome Level 16. Health 150. Mana 730. Stamina 110. Disposition:
Friendly. Gnomes have several subclasses that determine their specific powers.
Arcane gnomes are obsessed with knowledge. Increased dodge and sneak. Gifted in
magical arts. Bonus to Intelligence each level. Arcane Gnomes get three points
to distribute per level, and each level gives +2 to Intelligence.

 Richter greeted each in turn by
their names.

 
Zarr
looked at him sternly, “You should not use
yer
ability on a person without their consent lad! It’s bad manners!”

 
Quasea
just laughed however. “Oh
Zarr
, stop teasing the boy.
As if you wouldn’t do the same if you could!”

 “
Hmpff
!
Not really the point at all is it Q,” he replied.

 The elf stepped forward and
extended his hand, “Well met Richter. Thank you so much for your help in
freeing our people!
Terrod
has told us how pivotal
you were in the fight against the Night Blades. They were, unkind to our people
to say the least. Though none of us were held captive in that hole, the
suffering of our people still pained us! When I heard the adepts were going to
meet you, I volunteered as well. I am an adept Archer and a journeyman of Light
Armor,
Zarr
is an adept Earth Mage, and
Quasea
is an adept Dark Sorceress. We can increase your
skills over the next three days. It should greatly increase your chances to
retrieve Isabel.”

 “I appreciate your offer, but
I’m not sure if I could afford your expertise,” Richter said cautiously. The
idea of getting more skills was an amazing temptation, but he couldn’t believe
they would just help him out of the kindness of their hearts.

 “We don’t require payment, but it
shows wisdom that you don’t jump at the first opportunity for more power,”
Quasea
answered. The gnome had fair skin and long red hair
that was woven into a ponytail draped over her left shoulder. She was about
four feet tall and had a round, kind face. She wore a black robe belted with
dark purple rope that stopped just above her knees, tied in front with an
intricate knot. She looked him in the eye with purple irises that matched her
robe, but her gaze was more playful than challenging.

“I will tell you why we are helping
you. We owe you a debt either for freeing our loved. I also personally know
Isabel, and I would not leave her in the hands of a pig like the count. More
than that however, by deciding to come with you, we have tied our fate to you.
The others may not have picked up on your secret, but I am
a
adept of the Dark. The Dark is useful for many
things, but primarily it is used to conceal. I can feel the Mark you try to
hide. That coupled with what
Terrod
us about the
“defenses” you had in place for the village, really only lead to one simple
conclusion. You are the Master of a Place of Power,” the last was said as a
statement.

 All three looked at him, and
Richter felt trapped by the weight of their attention. The five of them sat in
silence gazing at one another. He did not want his abilities known broadly. He
had not forgotten Hisako’s warning that his power would make him a target.
Analyze had shown that all three were friendly to him though. They had also all
agreed to join his community. There really didn’t seem to be much risk. He held
up his left wrist and willed the Mark to appear.

“I am the Master of the Mist Village
and the Power it is built on. I promise I meant everything I have said before.
Everyone that comes to my village will be treated fairly. I am, the Master
though,” he added forcefully. Now that
Quasea
had
forced his hand, he decided it was best to establish the guidelines for how
things would be.

 The gnome only nodded. “I quite
understand… my Lord Richter.” She bowed her head slightly and the other two
followed suit. “We did not expect anything else. That brings us to the main
reason we are helping you. If we are going to make your village a home, then
the more prosperous it is, and by extension you are, the better off we all will
be. Though don’t expect us to always instruct you for free in the future,” she
said with a smile and a wink.

 Richter responded with a smile
of his own, “Then I gladly accept you help. Where do we start?”

 He spent the next three days
with the three masters. The skills the Bow adept taught him were all stamina
dependent, and predictably
Zarr’s
and
Quasea’s
skills were mana based. The spell that was
necessary to the mission came from
Quasea
, Troubled
Sleep, but required a skill level of three in Dark Magic. She also taught him
two level one spells that he cast relentlessly until his Dark Magic level
increased to level three. After working with the three trainers, his skills had
increased and he had gained several new ones:

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 4 in Light Armor. +2% to defense of all light armor.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 5 in Light Armor. +2% to defense of all light armor.

Congratulations! You have reached skill
level 6 in Light Armor. +2% to defense of all light armor.

Congratulations! You have learned the
subskill: Grace in Combat. If wearing all light armor, dodge increased by 10%.
This is a subskill of Light Armor.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 2 in Grace in Combat. Dodge increased by 11%.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 6 in Archery. +2% bonus to aim. +2% bonus to damage.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 7 in Archery. +2% bonus to aim. +2% bonus to damage.

Congratulations! You have learned the
subskill: Double Shot. You can fire an arrow and then a second arrow with less
than a second between them. Accuracy of first shot decreased by 25% and
accuracy of the second shot decreased by 50%. Cost 20 stamina. This is a
subskill of archery.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 2 in Double Shot. Accuracy of first shot decreased by 24% and
accuracy of the second shot decreased by 49%.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 3 in Double Shot. Accuracy of first shot decreased by 23% and
accuracy of the second shot decreased by 48%.

Congratulations! You have learned the
subskill: Drill Shot. Strong focus lets you find holes in an enemy’s armor. You
can ignore 10% of an opponent’s armor. Takes two seconds to aim. Cost 25
stamina. This is a subskill of archery.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 2 in Drill Shot. You can ignore 11% of an opponent’s armor.

Congratulations! You have learned the
skill: Dark Magic. Increasing you skill will unlock more spells. It will also
increase the power of your spells.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 2 in Dark Magic. New spells are now available.

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 3 in Dark Magic. New spells are now available.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell: Night Vision! The target of this spell can see even in the deepest
darkness. This is a spell of Dark Magic. Cost 5 mana. Duration: 3 hours. Range:
10 feet. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell: Cloying Darkness! Cast a cone of thickened darkness 15 feet in length
from your hand. Movement and Attack speed of targets decreased by 20%. All in
area of effect will suffer from spell. Will not work in direct sunlight. This
is a spell of Dark Magic. Cost 30 mana. Duration: 10 minutes. Range: 10 feet.
Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell: Troubled Sleep. Places your target in a restless sleep. He will be
plagued by nightmares until awakening. Any attack or hostile action taken
against target will awaken them. Area of effect five feet. This is a spell of
Dark Magic. Cost: 50 mana.
 
Duration: one
hour. Range 15 feet. Cast time: 3 seconds. Cool down: 15 minutes.

You have reached skill level 2 in
Earth Magic. New spells are now available.

Congratulations! You have learned the
spell: Summon Insects: Summons a host of stinging and biting insects in a ten
foot wide circle. Causes minimal damage, but impedes concentration. This is a
spell of Earth Magic. Cost: 25 mana.  Duration: 5 minutes. Range 20 feet.
Cast time: 1 second. Cool down: 20 minutes

 Constant use and depletion of
his stamina and mana earned him a +1 to Constitution, Endurance and Wisdom.
Double Shot, which had seemed almost useless initially got less of a penalty as
he leveled. He could see the benefit of continuing to invest in the skill if at
level 50 he could fire twice as fast as another archer. Drill shot could
definitely come in handy as well. Richter had asked
Ulinde
if Drill shot could negate all armor when the skill level was high enough.
Unfortunately the answer was no. Different skills had different caps they could
advance to. Drill shot, for instance, could ignore 60% of armor when maxed out
at skill level 50. The armor penetration also depended on the type of arrow
being used and the type of armor it was being used against. A simple iron arrow
would barely harm dragon scale armor for instance, even if Drill shot was
maxed. Once again reality was intruding on Richter’s plans for world domination!

There was no denying the usefulness
of the training.
Ulinde
explained that training with
someone at a higher level than you in a skill would increase the speed you
learned the skill.
 
The amount of the
bonus was based on the level of the trainer compared to your respective
level.
 
Richter also asked how
Ulinde
could teach light armor skills, when he was only a
journeyman in that skill.
 
He looked
confused for a moment until Richter talked about how he knew only adept and
master magicians could teach spells.
 
Ulinde
nodded in understanding and said that didn’t apply
to learning new skills.
 

 
An added benefit of the training was that Sion
was able to learn from
Ulinde
as well. He obtained
the skills Grace in Combat, Double Shot and Drill
Shot
,
but even more useful, Stun Shot. It was a level 10 archery subskill, so
unfortunately Richter couldn’t learn it yet.

Training had been tiring, but
extremely beneficial and efficient. He definitely progressed faster than he
would have alone.
 
Richter was extremely
thankful that these three were going to be part of his village. He expressed
that to
Quasea
, and she just gave him a pinch on the
butt with a saucy wink before walking off.

The gnome’s forward behavior didn’t
hold Richter’s attention long. He was day dreaming of creating a culture of
open learning in the Mist Village. Knowledge was guarded jealously in The Land.
The price of the books were a clear indication. One book cost three months of
wages for the average worker. That wouldn’t be the case in his village. Every
skill that could be learned would be. Dreams of arrow shooting Dark Earth
magicians were dancing through his head. He decided to be honest with himself.
Jedis
. He really wanted
Jedis
!

 The three days came and went
surprisingly quickly. The only breaks Richter took from his training was to
check on the progress of his new people. Both the humans and nonhumans had been
industrious about organizing for passage to their new home. The human settlers,
along with
Randolphus
, had left for Leaf’s
Crossing
the day before. Richter had paid a coin to a
messenger to run ahead and carry a message to Rosy at the Whistling Hen. It had
told her that he needed to rent out the entire inn to house the human portion
of his people for a day or two. He included in the message what he hoped was a
sufficient amount of coins for their room and board, but promised to make up
the difference in a few days if he was short.

 The nonhumans had slowly
ferreted their families to the Laughing Imp or other safe houses that
Terrod
and his compatriots had access to. It had been an
emotional series of days for them as there was a very real possibility that
they would not see those left behind for several years, if ever again.
Terrod
and Richter had decided to implement everything on the
same day. The same day of the count’s ball, the holds of the ships they had
commissioned were slowly filled throughout the day with the nonhumans. Richter
and Sion would join them after saving Isabel. She would also come to the
Forest, as it would be way too dangerous for her to remain in Law after
escaping the count.
Terrod
would stay behind, and try
to find the other nonhumans that had been sold. So far no further information
had been gleaned from the ledger. Ultimately he was planning to sell the inn,
and if possible make a new life in Leaf’s Crossing, Isabel could join him some
time later. Through his training and organizing, Richter lost track of time.
Before he knew it
Terrod
had walked into the room at
the end of the hallway where Richter was sitting with
Zarr
and simply said, “It’s time.”